It was sometime in February 2011 that I first had a chance meeting with Rohit Sharma in Mumbai. He had failed to make the Indian team for the world cup at home and was understandably low. All he said was “I did not perform well enough and I have to do much better”.
Few words but enough to reveal what was a moment of reckoning for the talented man. Talent, it must be said, did not get Rohit where he now belongs. Hard work did. For someone who started out as an off-spinner, to make a name as one of the world’s best isn’t simply the result of being talented. Rohit has managed to hone his batting and leadership skills having put in hundreds of hours of hard work and will easily rank as one of the best batters and captains in the history of Indian cricket.
I remember asking him once what it was like to lead a cricket team with very different individuals who are often from different nationalities?
Sample this from Rohit: “You can’t lead a cricket team in isolation. You have to understand and talk to each and every player in your team to know what they are thinking and how they are approaching the game. You have to make sure that they buy into your strand of thinking for only then can a successful cricket team get created.
“In Mumbai, we have many stars in the team and it has always been challenging as the captain of the side. I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I have learnt a great deal from doing so. You learn to understand human philosophy better, tackle situations better, get exposed to different cultures and ideas, and at the end of the day turn into a better human being.”
To understand Rohit, we need to understand the man’s mind for only then can you make sense of some of his decisions. For example, it was an easy solution for Rohit to opt out of the 2020 IPL final in Dubai. Nursing a serious injury, no one would have questioned the call for it was logical to do so. Rohit, however, decided to do the opposite. Risking further injury, he played the final and true to his calling, scored a match-winning 68 off 51 and helped Mumbai to their 5th IPL title.
Did he ever feel that the risk was not worth taking? That the bravado could have cost him dear?
Yet again Rohit was candid when I had asked him this. “I played the final as that’s what I felt was right. If I failed, it was okay with me but not trying wasn’t. That would not seem right and in the end it is about doing things that you feel are right”, he had said.
That’s what Rohit is all about. Effort and giving it his best shot. Meshed with talent, it has been good enough to give India 2 ICC trophies and Mumbai 5 IPL titles. But then the journey isn’t done yet and that’s the wish for his birthday. One final time in England. After Australia and a failed BGT, India needs it and Rohit needs it more.
Happy birthday and all the best.
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